A pair of ex-UFC featherweights will clash at Bellator 253.
Jeremy Kennedy (15-2-1) will face Matt Bessette (24-9-1 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) on Nov. 19. Both Kennedy and Bessette confirmed the booking on social media after a report from TSN.
The initial report also says a lightweight bout between Lance Gibson Jr. (3-0, 1-0 BMMA) and Shane Kruchten (12-5 MMA, 0-2 BMMA) has been added to the event.
Kennedy hasn’t competed since October 2019, when he was eliminated from the PFL’s featherweight tournament semifinals in a submission loss to Daniel Pineda. The loss eventually was overturned to a no-contest after Pineda was flagged for having an elevated testosterone-to-epitestosterone ratio in his system.
Since departing the UFC in 2018, Bessette has won two in a row. Most recently, he won the CES featherweight title with a third-round knockout of Charles Cheeks III in January. He will return to Bellator, where he amassed a 7-2 record with notable wins over Saul Almeida and Diego Nunes.